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In yet another legal development calling into question a traditional independent contractor relationship in the U.S., the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit determined that off-duty police officers were employees of a private security company for purposes of the Fair Labor Standards Act. In Acosta v. Off Duty Police Services, Inc. (6th Cir. Feb. … Continue Reading

Massachusetts employers’ decision-making processes with regards to lateral, internal employee transfers are now subject to possible state law discrimination claims. On January 29, 2019, the SJC issued its decision in Yee v. Massachusetts State Police, SCJ-12485, holding that when two jobs at the same level for the same employer offer “material differences” in compensation opportunity, … Continue Reading

On January 23, 2019, Massachusetts released draft regulations on the Paid Family and Medical Leave (“PFML”) Law, signed into law last summer (as previously discussed here) and set to begin taking effect this upcoming July. The Department of Family and Medical Leave released these draft regulations for public comment only, with the deadline for publication … Continue Reading

Our friends at Bloomberg Law are reporting that the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has sent a proposed new federal overtime rule to the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA). OIRA is part of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), which has the responsibility to coordinate interagency Executive Branch review of … Continue Reading

As discussed in our earlier post, New York State’s annual increases for overtime exemption and minimum wage go into effect on December 31, 2018. Employers whose exempt “administrative” and “executive” employees are currently paid less than the new salary minimums must either increase those salaries to the new levels or start paying the affected employees … Continue Reading

Latest from Law and the Workplace

As has been long anticipated, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court recently gave a green light to plaintiffs’ attorneys seeking a fee award under the Commonwealth’s Payment of Wages Act, even where an action ends in settlement. The Wage Act (Mass. General Laws ch. 149 §§ 148, 150) awards costs and fees when an employee “prevails” … Continue Reading

On February 19, 2019, the New York City Commission on Human Rights (“NYCCHR”) issued new enforcement guidance on appearance and grooming policies that ban or restrict naturally curly hair, dreadlocks, braids, cornrows and other hairstyles. Such policies constitute a violation of the New York City Human Rights Law (“NYCHRL”) because, according to the City Commission, … Continue Reading

A new bill seeking to expand paid family leave in New Jersey passed the Senate and Assembly on January 31, 2019, and was signed by Governor Phil Murphy today. The bill makes sweeping changes to the New Jersey Family Leave Act that provides greater benefits for more employees. Following are some highlights of the bill: … Continue Reading

In this episode of The Proskauer Brief, partners Harris Mufson and Guy Brenner discuss the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP). Harris and Guy highlight OFCCP’s recent activities and discuss what government contactors should expect in 2019, so be sure to tune in. Listen to the podcast.… Continue Reading

In this episode of The Proskauer Brief, partners Harris Mufson and Howard Robbins continue their “Can My Employees Do That?” series. In this installment, Harris and Howard discuss the legal requirements regarding service animals in the workplace and provide practical advice for employers to address requests by employees to bring service animals to work. Please … Continue Reading

On January 23, 2019, the Seventh Circuit held that the ADEA’s prohibition of disparate impact discrimination do not extend to job applicants. Kleber v. CareFusion Corp., No. 17-cv-1206. In Kleber, a 58-year-old attorney unsuccessfully applied for a General Counsel position within the Company’s law department. The job posting required applicants to have fewer than seven … Continue Reading

Practice Area Focused Blogs

An employer’s duty to provide information to the union representing its employees is a frequent of topic of interest to labor relations practitioners because it is very easy to violate the law. For example, an employer’s assertion that the information is confidential is not enough to justify failing to turn over the information. And, for a brief period of time...… Continue Reading

Quick Hit: OFCCP’s Directive 2019-04 reveals the development a Voluntary Enterprise-Wide Review Program (“VERP”). Once established, contractors will be able to voluntarily participate in the program, submitting themselves to an expanded compliance evaluation as part of an application process and, upon admittance to the program, will be removed from the pool of contractors in the...… Continue Reading

On January 15, 2019, the First Circuit ruled that a plaintiff adequately alleges protected activity under the FCA whistleblower protection provision where he asserts that he reported concerns about his employer’s conduct that could reasonably lead to a viable FCA action. Guilfoile v. Shields, Sr., No. 17-1610. Background Plaintiff, a former executive of pharmacy chain...… Continue Reading

The Second Circuit held that plaintiffs’ allegations that the defendant suffered from a “categorical potential conflict of interest”—because it both funded the plan and was the claim’s decision-maker—did not affect the application of the arbitrary and capricious standard of review in the absence of a showing by the plaintiffs that the conflict actually affected the...… Continue Reading

A federal district court in Illinois held that participants in a multiemployer pension plan failed to plausibly allege that plan fiduciaries retaliated against them in violation of ERISA § 510 by refusing to consider their employer’s offer to settle its withdrawal liability to the plan. In lieu of paying withdrawal liability, the employer offered to create...… Continue Reading

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February 19, 2019 (Los Angeles) – International law firm Proskauer announced today the arrival of Kate Gold as a partner in its Labor & Employment Department, resident in the Los Angeles office.
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February 15, 2019 (Paris) – International law firm Proskauer announced today the arrival of Alexanrda Stocki as a partner in the Labor & Employment Law Department, resident in the Paris office.
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